These are the significant dates along the Timeline involving the land acquisitions and necessary red tape inherent in a project of this scope:
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12/5/2017 Articles of Incorporation for the non-profit filed with NJ Secretary of State
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12/15/2017 Lots 5004, 5006 and 5010 Ventnor Ave. went to closing after offers were extended, and Marathon Engineering had undertaken Phase I environmental due diligence studies of the five parcels under contemplation for purchase at that time. Acquisitions were quietly pursued in the name of a shell corporation, TDN LLC. After 3 lots closed, initial contact was made to City of Ventnor expressing interest in acquiring city-owned 5008 Ventnor Ave. which had reverted to the city due to default on a city-held mortgage.
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3/8/2018 City of Ventnor voted a Resolution to approve the sale of 5008 Ventnor at private auction, with notice to the contiguous lot owners consisting of TDN, LLC – a shell corporation formed for quiet property acquisitions -- with 87 linear feet of contiguous border on each of two sides; and the condo ownership interests with 20 linear feet of contiguous property line at the rear.
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4/4/2018 VMP submitted a Long Form 1023 to the IRS in support of its application for recognition as a public operating 501(c) 3 charity. *Note: Charities which expect less than $50,000 in donations are able to file the simple Form 1023-EZ. Because of the acquisition costs of the initial lots being accumulated to make the park possible, the Trustees filed the Long Form application which receives more scrutiny at IRS.
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4/26/2018 Originally scheduled as the closing date for sale of 5008 Ventnor Ave. from the city to TDN LLC, the date had to be put off with the City after a Title Search revealed there were clouds on title which had not been extinguished (the city’s liens for mortgage and unpaid taxes). Closing was about a month later, in late May 2018.
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5/1/2018 VMP filed its first Form 990 for Tax Year 2017 with the IRS, showing gifts, grants, donations in kind of $183,623 representing land acquisition costs and professional fees related to the first three parcels of land.
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8/21/2018 The IRS issued a qualifying letter conferring the 501(c)3 public, operating charity status sought, as appropriate for a park of this nature.
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9/24/2018 VMP went before the Ventnor City Planning Board and as reported it was: “to seek a use variance along with variances for lot depth, fence height, side buffers and all the waivers necessary to construct the ‘quasi-public’ park, which architect Todd Miller of QMA Architects of Ventnor called ‘a small green oasis’ in an urban environment. The vote was 7-0 with Commissioner Lance Landgraf and board member Mike Wiesen abstaining.”
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4/4/2019 As a follow up to the first hearing, VMP went before the Ventnor City Planning Board with more fully developed architectural, engineering and native species planting plan details for the park. Subsequently, the Planning Board returned a checklist of items desired by the City to carrying out the project inclusive of permit-pulling, posting completion bonding for the sidewalk Right of Way, and expanding some of the project workload to address the city’s concerns with existing infrastructure under the street along the curbline etc.
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5/14/2019 VMP filed engineering plans for soil erosion and sedimentation control to the Cape Atlantic Conservation District
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7/2/2019 Cape Atlantic Conservation District approved the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Plan as submitted and sent registered mail notification to VMP as applicant.
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7/5/2019 Among the multiple checklist items required by the City of Ventnor Planning Board was that there be a consolidation of the four separately acquired lots comprising the park parcel, and Lots 5004 + 5006 + 5008 + 5010 Ventnor Ave. were unified by a Deed of Consolidation dated 5/28/19, redesignated simply as 5000 Ventnor Ave. and the deed was recorded with Atlantic County Recorder on 7/5/2019.
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9/13/19 After a 9/4/2019 hearing in Trenton, Ventnor Memory Park was qualified by letter dated 9/13/2019 from State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection as approved by the Green Acres Tax Exemption Program per Application #0122-05-4501, under N.J.A.C.7:35-1 et seq as being in accordance with a public use under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.64
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November 2019 Funds for Sidewalk Completion Bonding remitted to counsel for handling in a manner deemed fit by City of Ventnor found the last item of “checklist” preparatory to construction completed. An Order for the graywater retention tank was placed by Fraser Associates and has some “lead time” until its delivery allows ground to be broken.
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12/18/2019 to 12/24/2019 Last details of Water & Sewer street connections and street opening permit were addressed.
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Early 2020 - Ground was broken and the greywater storage tank installed at the site, taking advantage of the unseasonably warm start of winter months.
